women of a certain age are like sunflowers; they know how to turn their faces to the sun.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Hello, It's Me...

"Hello, it's me
I've thought about us for a long, long time
Maybe I think too much but something's wrong
There's something here that doesn't last too long
Maybe I shouldn't think of you as mine..."
-Todd Rundgren


Well, it's been a long time comin', hasn't it?

More than two weeks since my last substantive post.

But I had a good reason.

Actually, I had eleven good reasons:

Five Koolhaas
Three Foliage
One Calorimetry
One Tudora
One Utopia

And I probably would have knit a partridge in a pear tree if I could have just gotten the tail feathers right!

I tried to buy gifts. I really did. But when I saw the prices, I got sticker shock. I mean, $80 for a scarf (and it wasn't cashmere or even alpaca!) $30 for bubble bath (I wonder if you could use SOAK?) and $50 for a bunch of plants that will never produce anything close to useful (unlike, say, bamboo or cotton - do they have sheep to shawl competitions for organic fibers? What would you call them? Stem to sock? Plant to pullover?)

And these weren't lovely heartfelt handmade goodies. They were cold, heartless, store bought substitutes.

I caved. And I'm glad I did.

I put Sedona and Moroccan Days in the work basket and closed the lid. I motored down to my LYS and acquired multiple single skeins of Malabrigo. And I got busy. On Ravelry, I dubbed my Xmas knitting, "Susan's Last Minute Act of Desperation." It might have taken me longer than some to get into the Christmas spirit, but once I did, there was no stopping me.

I knit at home. I knit in the car. I knit at restaurants while waiting for my food. I knit while cookies baked. I knit while my lovely husband wrapped all the presents (GOD BLESS HIS LITTLE PEA-PICKIN' HEART!) I even knit in church on Christmas Eve. And while I worried others around me might think it sacrilegious, the lady behind me tapped my shoulder during the Peace and asked me what I was making.

Hands to work and hearts to God.

I would like to say I was done with Christmas knitting, but I cannot tell a lie. I still have two Koolhaas to go.


I discovered two things during this crusade:

  1. Creating gifts for others is an essential part of Christmas for me. Never again will I try to subvert this impulse in the name of "good business" which is after all an oxymoron - busy-ness is never a good excuse for neglecting your heart's desire, nor that of others.
  2. The two needle method used in sock construction is a lifesaver when you are on your third hat done on 16 inch circulars and your hands are starting to resemble THE CLAW from pinching those tiny needles between your finger and thumb. Writer's cramp? PSHAW! Piece of cake. But knitter's cramp? OUCH!
So now it is the new year. The holiday's are past.

But the knitting lingers on...

12 comments:

Cheryl, the jungian Knitter said...

Pretty soon I'll have to start whining for the Morocco pattern!

amy said...

Happy New Year!! What good sports your husband & son are, to pose for that picture!

Carol said...

Happy New Year! You sure did a great job getting the Christmas on!

Kim said...

Good to see you come up for air! I hope you had a nice Holiday!

Pat K said...

Wondered where you had gotten off to. At least your hands still permit you to type and post. ;-) I presume the knitting pace has dropped off some now. Hope you had a great New Year.

Linda said...

good for you, I can tell you are proud, that's a good thing! And I can see that the recipeints are proud and happy too. I made gifts too, but my recipients did not appear to pleased. Next time I'll do the cheap and easy route and pay attention to those that do appreciate (and spend more time on theirs). Happy 2008

Lisa said...

Wow great job getting all that Christmas knitting done. You will have to start earlier this year. ;)

Bea said...

You have been super busy! I think I'm going to try to knit socks for my loved ones for next Christmas. Love the picture. At least they are happy with their turbans. I can't wait to see how the hats turn out!

La Cabeza Grande said...

You make me laugh, you knitting machine! The turbans are a delight and Mr. and No. One Son seem like such good sports.

Breathe. Take a moment to relax those claws and enjoy what you've already done to brighten your recipients day.

ikkinlala said...

I love the "hats" - I'll have to try that the next time I don't get things done in time.

Opal said...

What an amazing amount of holiday knitting you got done! I feel totally shamed by your numbers. I'm so bad, I'm still working on getting my gifts finished.

I hope you had a lovely holiday celebration. Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

You, too? I wrapped a ball of yarn and buttons in a box with a picture of the aran cardigan I started for my husband, and put that under the tree. An enclosed note told him that he had to give the yarn & buttons back, so that I could finish the cardigan. He looked at me as if he thought I were mad, so I told him to view it as a form of gift voucher.

Joy